Fulton Parks and Recreation Director Clay Caswell presented council members with the updated Parks and Recreation 10-year Master Plan during the city council's Tuesday meeting.
Caswell said the proposed projects for new parks and recreation amenities would benefit Fulton residents in several ways - projects would improve the overall quality of life, generate additional city revenue from residents and visitors and keep more revenue in Fulton that would be spent in neighborhood communities.
The most viable option for funding the projects would involve a half-cent parks and recreation and storm water sales tax and rely on net profit from a five-field baseball complex, Caswell said.
"It's a plan that's evolved over the past 10 years with meetings, discussions and talking with people in the community," Caswell said as he addressed council members.
Caswell said the park board accessed previous master plans from 1982, 1993, and 1999 and noticed a pattern.
"A lot of those needs were never met," Caswell said. "They were never implemented."
Caswell said the needs that were never met are the same issues the city faces today.
He mentioned 28 park and facility improvements made since 2005.
"A lot of good improvements," Caswell said. "But again, there was no plan. These improvements kinda came about randomly or out of necessity."
Caswell said park board members worked on the 38-page master plan for about 10 months during which they devised main goals for the plan. He said the initial goals of the master plan involved an evaluation of its current facilities and programs, an assessment of the recreational needs of the community and using the information provided in surveys to develop a plan that can be reasonably implemented.
After collecting all the data, Caswell said the park board composed an "aggressive" but feasible plan that would "make Fulton a better place to live and play."
The report includes park facility survey results from 2007 and an extensive overview of the 2015 parks and recreation results from 962 survey participants. The 2015 survey collected data on facility usage, popular programs and activities and parks and recreation program satisfaction.
The most recent survey asked participants about the parks and recreation amenities they use most often. Overwhelmingly, survey participants picked the Stinson Creek Walking Trail, followed by playgrounds and baseball and softball fields.
It also asked participants which park they most frequently visit. Veterans Park, Memorial Park and Stinson Creek Trail were the most popular choices.
Other survey questions asked about participation in recreation programs, how often survey takers participate in informal or formal recreation activities, how many parks and recreation sponsored events and programs they participate in each year and if they have participated - what their favorite activity was.
The questionnaire inquired about the types of programs and activities participants would prefer the parks and recreation department offers in the future. Most people selected indoor swim activities, fitness classes, after school programs and a winter swim team as programs they would like the department to offer in the future.
Lastly, the survey asked about the facility improvements or development projects Fulton residents would want the city to address in the next 10 years. Survey participants chose the indoor recreation center/community center, a new outdoor aquatic center, a baseball/softball complex with five fields, an indoor aquatic center and a fitness center.
Despite the public demand for more diverse programs, activities and facilities, 51.7 percent of survey takers indicated they were "satisfied" and 40.4 percent "extremely satisfied" with their overall experience participating in past parks and recreation activities.
Caswell said a "master plan prioritized" was created based on the feedback from surveys that divided into major projects and high-priority minor projects that address the community's recreational interests.
The first of five major projects described in the plan is building a multipurpose community center, which has been recognized as a community need since the 1982 master plan, and the 2007 parks and recreation survey showed it was the most desired.
"What we envision is a true multipurpose facility," Caswell said. "One that is not just a sports facility but could be used for concerts, banquets, wedding receptions, meetings and all kinds of things."
Caswell said Veterans Park would be an ideal site for the community center because of its centralized location and adequate space.
Another major project idea is an outdoor aquatic center, located adjacent to the new community center, to replace the current 32-year-old pool that requires continual, major repairs to the pool circulation system and the pool's deteriorating structure.
The third major project listed in the report is constructing a five-field baseball and softball complex at Jatho Farm on Route H. Caswell said that a multifield complex would be more convenient during baseball and softball seasons because multiple fields are currently spread across the city. He also said the complex's location would make it an "appealing tournament destination" used for competitive tournaments and leagues to generate revenue from people visiting Fulton. The report states that the complex would generate enough revenue to cover the construction costs in 10-15 years.
Stinson Creek Trail would be the fourth major project, with the main goal of connecting the current trail into one continuous loop that covers most of the city. The report says the trail has been heavily used by bikers, walkers and runners since its development in the late 90s and improvements would keep making it an appealing location for charity walk and run events.
The final major project would be the Tennyson Road Park development, which was originally designated as a city park in 2008 but never came to fruition. The park would include shelters, playgrounds, a walking trail, athletic fields, volleyball and basketball courts, and open recreation space. The park could serve as an ideal location for an enclosed picnic shelter, which the community identified as a need in the 2015 survey.
The estimated costs for major projects is $8.25 million and the total for minor projects listed by priority is projected to be $1.55 million for a project total of about $9.8 million.
"The timing is right for this project," Caswell said. "You look at the things we've done as a city - new police station, new city hall, new fire station, new animal shelter, new warehouse - most of those projects are behind us. Now we start looking to the future."